12 May 2018 - Daily Current Affairs
World Migratory Bird Day being observed today
- The World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is being observed across the world on the second weekend in May to raise awareness and highlight the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats.
- This year, WMBD is being observed on 12th May.
- It has a global outreach and is an effective tool to help raise global awareness of the threats faced by migratory birds, their ecological importance, and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.
12th May: International Nurse day
- International Nurses Day (IND) is an international day celebrated around the world on 12th of May every year to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.
- Florence Nightingale (the foundational philosopher of the modern nursing) was born on 12thof May in 1820.
- The theme of 2018 is “Nurses: Inspire, Innovate, Influence."
- On the occasion, President Ram Nath Kovind has presented Florence Nightingale awards to the nursing personnel at a function in New Delhi.
National Appointments
Nirmal Singh elected JK Assembly speaker
- Former deputy chief minister of J&K Nirmal Singh has been elected as the speaker of the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly.
- In a one-day special session of the state Assembly, Mr. Singh (MLA from Billawar constituency) was elected as the speaker by a voice vote.
- Singh defeated Congress MLA from Bandipora, Usman Majeed.
Note:
- The Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir.
- It has 89 (87 elected; 2 nominated).
Mohit Chauhan nominated as Green Ambassador of Sikkim
- The Sikkim Govt. has nominated Bollywood singer Mohit Chauhan as the Green Ambassador of the state.
- Earlier this year, the state government had roped in ‘AR Rahman’ as its ambassador to promote tourism in Sikkim.
- Sikkim is known for its rich biodiversity and abundant natural resources due to environment-friendly policies being followed by the state government for more than two decades.
International Affairs
Sri Lankan army to set up Directorate of Overseas Operations
- Sri Lankan army has set up a “Directorate of Overseas Operations” to defend itself against war crimes charges during the three-decade-long LTTE war.
- As pro-LTTE organizations claimed to kill off up to 40 thousand civilians during the last phase of the war in 2009 and thousands more missing.
- The Directorate was set up in April and is already engaged in the collection of the relevant material.
- According to the Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake, around 77% of land acquired by armed forces during the war has been returned to the rightful owners.
National Affairs
Govt departments earmark Rs. 16,500 cr for Swachh Bharat Mission in 2018-19
- Around Rs. 16500 Crores have been earmarked by 71 Ministries and Departments of the Central Government for implementation of the Swachh Bharat Mission during the current fiscal.
- PK Sinha (Cabinet Secretary of India) has launched the Swachhata Action Plan (SAP) 2018-19 during a meeting of Secretaries and senior officials in New Delhi.
- The SAP Compendium 2018-19 was also released on this occasion.
- Last year, Union Ministries had allocated over 18 thousand crore rupees towards this.
Note: Swachh Bharat Abhiyan is a campaign in India that aims to clean up the streets, roads and infrastructure of India's cities, smaller towns, and rural areas.
Telangana Govt. launches Rythu Bandhu scheme for farmers
- Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has launched the Rythu Bandhu Scheme in the state.
- The scheme will ensure, farmers will get Rs 8,000 per acre per year for two crops (Rabi and Kharif).
- The state government has set aside Rs12,000 crore for Rythu Bandhu in the 2018-19 budget.
- Around 2.3 crore acres of land have been verified (2.9 crore acres of land in the state) and around 1.4 crore acres of them have been identified as cultivable land.
- The state government will issue cheques as well as passbooks to all 58 lakh eligible farmers for this season.
Maharashtra: Bankers to lend Rs 85,464 crore to the farm sector
- In a Meeting chaired by the Maharashtra CM Devendra Fardvis, the State Level Banking Committee, NABARD & the Reserve Bank officials decided to lend Rs 85,464 crore to the farm sector in Maharashtra.
- The credit disbursement plan approved by the committee included Rs 58,319 crore in crop loans and Rs 27,145 crore for capital investments in the sector.
- According to CM Fadnavis, around 37 lakh farmer accounts have received the benefit of the state's crop loan waiver scheme till now.
Banking & Finance
India's growth to accelerate to 7.3% in next fiscal, says Fitch
- According to Credit rating agency ‘Fitch’, India's economic growth will accelerate to 7.3% in the current financial year and 7.5% in the next fiscal.
- The growth rate will accelerate as money supply has recovered to its pre-demonetisation level and disruptions related to the rollout of GST have diminished.
- India's ratings balance a strong medium-term growth outlook and favorable external balances against a weak fiscal position and difficult business environment.
- Country's business environment is likely to improve gradually with the implementation and continued broadening of the government's structural reform agenda.
Note:
- Fitch Ratings Inc. is one of the big three credit rating agencies (other two -Moody's and Standard & Poor's).
- It is one of the three nationally recognized statistical rating organizations (NRSRO) designated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 1975.
- Fitch Ratings is dual-headquartered in New York (US) and London(UK).
Sports
Indian judokas win 3 medals on the 1st day of Asian Cadet Judo Championships
- Indian judokas won 3 medals on the opening day of Asian Cadet Judo Championships in Lebanon.
- Rohini S Mohite (hails from Maharashtra) won the gold medal in the 40kg category.
- Tababi Devi Thanjam (Manipur) emerged champion in the 44kg category.
- Harish(Haryana) won bronze in the 50kg category. \
